ITcon Vol. 14, pg. 642-653, http://www.itcon.org/2009/42

Requirement specification and prototyping for user interfaces of buildings' environmental controls

submitted:January 2009
revised:July 2009
published:October 2009
editor(s):Rezgui Y, Zarli A, Hopfe C J
authors:Szu-Cheng Chien, Dr.,
Department of Building Physics and Building Ecology, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria;
oops@pie.com.tw

Ardeshir Mahdavi, Univ. Prof. DI Dr.,
Department of Building Physics and Building Ecology, Vienna University of Technology, Vienna, Austria;
amahdavi@tuwien.ac.at
summary:Occupant control actions in a building (i.e. user interactions with environmental systems for heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting, etc.) can significantly affect both indoor climate in and the environmental performance of buildings. Nonetheless, relatively few systematic (long-term and high-resolution) efforts have been made to observe and analyze the means and patterns of such user-system interactions with building systems. Specifically, the necessary requirements for the design and testing of hardware and software systems for user-system interfaces have not been formulated in a rigorous and reliable manner. This paper includes an exploration of the requirements of interfaces for user-systems interactions in sentient buildings. The outcome of this effort serves as a starting point for developing a new generation of user interface products to promote higher levels of connectivity between occupants and sentient environments.
keywords:sentient buildings, user interface, environmental controls
full text: (PDF file, 0.837 MB)
citation:Chien S-C, Mahdavi A (2009). Requirement specification and prototyping for user interfaces of buildings' environmental controls, ITcon Vol. 14, Special issue Building Information Modeling Applications, Challenges and Future Directions, pg. 642-653, https://www.itcon.org/2009/42